Jump to content
RMweb
 

Lovat Spring Water Traffic From Inverness


JohnH

Recommended Posts

Sorry for all the questions, but...

 

Just wondered when the bottled water traffic from Inverness started/finished?

 

What were the main destinations for this traffic?

 

Were a variety of air-braked vans used or was the traffic carried exclusively in VGA's? (as per the Ltd Edition Bachmann versions)

 

How many wagons were involved?

 

Has anyone any pictures of the traffic being loaded/unloaded?

 

Thanks as always for any help.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi!

 

I recall the traffic working from Inverness with class 56s on the front, along with 37s and RES 47s before the 66s took over properly. Departures from Inverness could well have loaded OTAs, ferrywaggons, Safeway containers as well as the Lovat Spring traffic.

  

One of the Lovat Spring VGAs was lurking on the Bicester Military Railway a couple of years ago - complete with logos.

 

Cheers G

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They still seem to be getting used today

 

http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=all&q=lovat+spring&m=text

Not for Lovat Spring, I suspect,but for MoD traffic. The only mineral water traffic by rail that I'm aware of is that to Daventry from various French locations for Danone. Highland Spring have run trials recently, but whether anything comes of it is another matter.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not for Lovat Spring, I suspect,but for MoD traffic.

 

Mmmm - spring water doesn't need hazmat stickers (if it does, stop drinking it!)... ;)

 

Anyone know how many vans carried the logo's - was it just 2? I have shots of 210527 (and there's another on that flickr link) - the other one on flickr is reportedly 210622....was it just those 2 with the logo's?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

I have a funny feeling that I've seen some of this traffic as far south as Marchwood Military Port, Southampton.

See my previous post; it's not that the MoD have started being large consumers of mineral water, but that the vans have been transferred to an MoD Pool. I do wonder if any Scottish mineral water is transported south on the Inverness- Mossend- Daventry Tesco services.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

lyhttp://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2754792This is when it finished, it started about 18 months before that, and from memory they were in VGAs only, but it wouldn't surprise me if some VAA VBA vans were used also.I will look up some pics i might have.Regards Arran

Where loading bottle water into VGA at where siding ? From Lovat Spring water factory load on lorry to whereabouts siding for unloaded and loaded on VGA ? In Scotland

 

Thank you

 

I know out of business at 2001

Link to comment
Share on other sites

See my previous post; it's not that the MoD have started being large consumers of mineral water, but that the vans have been transferred to an MoD Pool. I do wonder if any Scottish mineral water is transported south on the Inverness- Mossend- Daventry Tesco services.

We were in 2003 in Iraq. About 20,000 of us, getting through 4-8 big bottles of water a day. It was all sorts of branded stuff from the UK. Lots from AG Barr, and Buxton too. Plus all the Kuwaiti stuff as well. That mostly came by ship, presumably out of Marchwood, into the SPOD in Kuwait.

 

Paul

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We were in 2003 in Iraq. About 20,000 of us, getting through 4-8 big bottles of water a day. It was all sorts of branded stuff from the UK. Lots from AG Barr, and Buxton too. Plus all the Kuwaiti stuff as well. That mostly came by ship, presumably out of Marchwood, into the SPOD in Kuwait.

The Lovat Spring traffic had finished though, and these vans ended up in the pool for any MOD traffic with the others. Whilst they might have moved any number of things between MOD stores, the presence of numerous ghosts of hazmat decals is a solid indicator they weren't in dedicated mineral water service! Again, if your mineral water comes with hazmat decals, stop drinking it!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Lovat Spring traffic had finished though, and these vans ended up in the pool for any MOD traffic with the others. Whilst they might have moved any number of things between MOD stores, the presence of numerous ghosts of hazmat decals is a solid indicator they weren't in dedicated mineral water service! Again, if your mineral water comes with hazmat decals, stop drinking it!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Lovat Spring traffic had finished though, and these vans ended up in the pool for any MOD traffic with the others. Whilst they might have moved any number of things between MOD stores, the presence of numerous ghosts of hazmat decals is a solid indicator they weren't in dedicated mineral water service! Again, if your mineral water comes with hazmat decals, stop drinking it!

Funnily enough, that was covered on my Hazmat instructors course!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello everyone

 

Who put comment by I am not aware to get correct info about how delivery from bottling plant to freight siding in Scotland for ready go south on rail to distribution

 

Thank you

It would be loaded on to 'Tautliner' (curtain-sided) trailers and taken to the rail head. There, forklifts would transfer it to railway wagons. Depending on facilities, a stock might be kept at the rail terminal. One recent trial used curtain-sided swap-bodies; whether these were kept on the wagon at the terminal, and treated as vans would have been, or unloaded and taken to the bottling plant, I couldn't say. The sort of heavy-duty lifting gear to handle containers is expensive to hire, and requires a relatively level surface that can take heavy pressure from the combined weight of machine and containers, so possibly the water was loaded on to the containers at the terminal.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Where loading bottle water into VGA at where siding ? From Lovat Spring water factory load on lorry to whereabouts siding for unloaded and loaded on VGA ? In Scotland

 

Thank you

 

I know out of business at 2001

 

Hello everyone

 

Who put comment by I am not aware to get correct info about how delivery from bottling plant to freight siding in Scotland for ready go south on rail to distribution

 

Thank you

 

Andrew,

 

The bottling plant that Arran linked to is at Culburnie, near Kiltarlity to the south of Beauly and therefore road transport must have been used to transport the water from the bottling plant to sidings at Millburn Yard, Inverness. This is the only local railhead, since the station at Beauly is no more than a very short passenger halt.  I've no idea what type of road vehicles were used.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Andrew,

 

The bottling plant that Arran linked to is at Culburnie, near Kiltarlity to the south of Beauly and therefore road transport must have been used to transport the water from the bottling plant to sidings at Millburn Yard, Inverness. This is the only local railhead, since the station at Beauly is no more than a very short passenger halt.  I've no idea what type of road vehicles were used.

Thank you to Dungrange so I thought road transport delivery bottle water to muir of ord have plenty siding by short distance from bottling plant BUT road transport to millburn yard Inverness

 

Thank you again by correct answer from my question by more aware than other information

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the help Gents! So some of the VAA/VBA's had the Lovat Spring livery - any photo's on the web?

Apologies if my somewhat badly phrased previous post gave the impression that any VAA's or VBA's were repainted in Lovat Spring livery.  As far as I'm aware they weren't, only two or perhaps three of the VGA's used for the traffic were done.  However, also noted in the mineral water traffic in addition to VGA's in plain livery were some that had received other, non related liveries, such as the one that had a large 'Gi' painted on the side and one that was lettered for 'Iggesund Paper Board', as illustrated in my IA book BR Air-braked Wagons in Colour.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...